What is Neptunism, Catastrophism and Plutonism?

 What is neptunism, catastrophism and plutonism?

By the end of the 18th century  - often cal1ed the "heroic age" of geology-there were  three major divisions in geological circles. Most of the debates at the time had to do with how surface features developed on Earth, and al1 three divisions had support by major geologists of the day. The following describes the primary camps. (Note: these three beliefs are often capitalized).

• Neptunism-Neptunism was a popular theory in the late 19th century and was especially favored by such famous geologists of the time as German scientist Abraham Werner. It held that the world was once all ocean, and that the rocks of the Earth's crust, including basalt and granite, seen today were precipitated out of the ocean.

• Catastrophism-This doctrine maintained that most geologic formations were created by sudden, violent, catastrophic events, such as earthquakes, floods, asteroids strikes, and volcanoes. Today, most geologists believe that Earth's features are formed by slow natural processes that, at times, are punctuated by certain catastrophic events.

• Plutonism - Scottish geologist James Hutton was an avid follower of plutonism, which also included the volcanists. This idea recognized that rock could  be created from both the oceans and subterranean processes, such as shallow ocean deposits and volcanoes; in addition, it held that landforms could form from these processes, such as heat from molten magma forcing mountains to uplift. The theory also stated that the Earth formed by solidification of a molten mass. Hutton proposed these ideas in his book Theory ofthe Earth.